DAY 10 - "It's WHAT mating season???"

Our last full day of this trip.

From Page, Arizona, the plan was to head south to Grand Canyon National Park, then take the 25-mile Desert View Drive to the South Rim, and cruise into Williams, AZ, for the night.

After a couple hours on the road, we entered the park (once again…no lifetime pass scan, no fees) and found ourselves at the first major turnoff, Desert View.  Equipped with multiple overlooks and the historic Desert View Watchtower, this was a great introduction to The Grand Canyon.

We popped out of the car, thrilled to find the enormous parking lot about three quarters empty.  Excellent.

Strolling down the path to the edge of Northern Arizona, we pretended not to suck wind at the 7,438-foot elevation and most of us still fighting that lingering cough…

At approximately one mile deep, an average of 10-miles wide, and stretching 277 miles long, the Grand Canyon is one of those things that just takes your breath away.  The numbers may help the mind grapple with the sheer scale of this thing, but standing on its edge, all you can really do is sigh.

And so, we wandered the paved Rim Trail in wonder.  It was humbling.  It was reflective.  It was calming.

That is until…I saw it.

Honestly, it was minding its own business, casually heading toward the parking lot as if it needed to grab another layer from the car: it was a Grand Canyon Black Tarantula.

Apparently…APPARENTLY…tarantula mating season is late August through October, peaking in mid-October, and the place was absolutely crawling with them.

I mean, okay, I saw two (and one of them may have been dead), but I know they were there, hordes of them.

Kinda cool.  Kinda terrifying. 

All I know for sure is there was a lot of mighty cautious stepping the rest of the day.

We carried on to the South Rim, stopping at every available point of interest.  Steven even racked up Curb Check Numero Dos, totally miscalculating the distance to the curb and nearly sending us flying into the canyon. Boom!

2 – 0 – 0 – 0

By the time we made it to the South Rim Visitor’s Center, which was closed, we were starved.  Taking one final deep sigh at Mather Point, we said farewell to The Grand Canyon and all of its wildlife as a heard of elk trotted alongside the road, escorting us out of the park.

We grabbed a bite in Tusayan and headed on down to Williams, AZ, where our final night of accommodations would have us staying at the historic Grand Canyon Hotel, established in 1891.

Williams is small town charm in the form of cheap Route 66 paraphernalia and decent vintage signage.

After a lap around main street, we were Elvis-ed out, and opted for a pint at the World Famous Sultana Bar, adorned by a giant neon martini glass above the double door entry.  Our kind of place, though certainly no longer an establishment known for cocktails…

Not necessarily a town of culinary depth, we found ourselves at Rod’s Steak House, where they were out of just about everything but wine…we made do.

Just 440 miles to Los Angeles...

DAY 11